A Decision
by Orcia
Summary: It's been two years since Danny saved the earth from the Disasteroid and revealed himself as Danny Phantom.


A full moon cast its pearly rays over the small town, bathing it in a gentle glow. All was silent, which was a rare occasion for the town. Usually, the night was filled with the shouts and blasts of a fight ensuing somewhere in the sky over the city as their favorite hero protected them from a destructive entity of ectoplasmic energy.

Not tonight.

On the other side of town, inside a large brick building with a strange metal machine sitting on top of it, the towns hero sat in the dark of his room, starring out into the starry sky. The boy's hair was jet black and unkempt, shaggy bangs hanging over his eyes. Soft blue eyes, like a cloudless summer sky, reflected the shimmering starlight.

Danny wore his usual outfit. A white t-shirt with red trim and an oval in the middle, and baggy blue jeans with red sneakers. His chin rested in his hand as he looked out at the small town.

A soft knock at the door made him turn. Slowly, a red beret poked itself into the room, a familiar pair of green eyes underneath it. The hat and eyes belonged to a dark skinned boy with glasses, dressed in a yellow sweatshirt and green jeans. Behind him, a dark haired girl with violet eyes stepped into the room. She wore a dark green skirt, a black tank top under a black sweater, dark purple tights, and a pair of black combat boots. A small ponytail stuck up on the back of her head, and she had black bracelets around her wrists with a matching choker necklace around her neck.

Danny smiled softly at the sight of his two best friends. "Hey guys."

Tucker walked over to the boy and sat down on the bed. Sam sat next to him. The trio sat quietly for a few minutes, before Tucker broke the silence by asking quietly. "You sure you want to do this, dude?"

Danny sighed heavily and turned away from the window, facing his best friends. He'd seen this coming, known it would have come up once more.

Ever since he had made his announcement to his family and two best friends, he'd been asked several times if he was certain about what he wanted to do. Danny had answered every time with a positive "Yes". He knew they just wanted him to be happy and not regret it, but he was sure about this.

It had been almost two years since he had saved the world from the Disasteroid and reviled he was the famed ghost hero Danny Phantom. His life had changed dramatically overnight. People wanted his autograph, a photo with him, and at school, no one bullied him and girls swooned once he entered a room.

In short, he'd rocketed from looser to world hero in one night.

At first, it had been weird, because he had been so used to being ignored or picked on. Now suddenly random people on the street wanted to shake his hand, or see him in action. Gradually, he became used to it, but it still felt odd to have people he didn't know wanting him to sign a slip of paper or whatever scrap they had on them.

But the ghost boy grew tired of the pressure everyone started to put on him. News reporters were always on the lookout for him, and it was ridiculous what lengths some would go to just to get his picture. One had hid in a dumpster at the Nasty Burger just to get a picture of him walking into the fast food joint!

Fame lost its glamor and became an annoyance and source of pressure.

Something he wanted gone.

A few weeks ago, Danny had gone to Tucker and asked if there was any way to create a device that could wipe people's memories. Confused by his question, the young mayor of Amity Park said he could probably find a way. When he asked why, Danny said he'd explain later.

And he had, once he had gathered his family and friends in his house that same night. It was there he told them he wanted to wipe the Disasteroid incident from everyone's minds. He wanted to make the world forget he was Danny Phantom.

At first, they assumed that meant he wanted to cease ghost hunting and stop being the famed ghost hero, but Danny explained that was not the case. He would continue to protect the town, and world, from ghost attacks, but he wanted his identity to be secret once more.

"Are you sure, man?" Tucker had asked.

Danny had turned to his friend with tired eyes. "Tuck, I can't leave my own house without getting followed by a reporter or mauled by a pack of rabid fangirls. I know this affects you being mayor—"

Tucker cut across him with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about that. My status has gone up, but I miss acting like a kid. I can't be myself with that political stuff. Maybe I'll be mayor of this town, but I want to graduate high school as a normal kid."

Danny smiled softly as his friend turned understanding eyes on him. The two boys knew how the other felt.

Sam had remained quiet, before finally speaking slowly. "Danny, I get you want to have a normal life again, as normal as you possibly can, anyway, but, are you really sure about this?" she asked. "Once it's done, it's done."

While the Goth girl didn't say it, Danny knew what she meant. If he wiped everyone's memories, then revealed himself again, and wiped their memories again, it would just be repeating a never ending circle. He'd have to be absolutely sure this was what he wanted.

Danny sat down on the couch beside Sam, taking her hands in his. Violet eyes met blue as he said softly. "I'm sure about this."

It had taken Tucker three weeks to finish the device, and even then, Danny had to seek out Clockwork for help. For once, the time keeping ghost said nothing about altering the future, or what the consequences might be. He knew he wouldn't be able to change the boy's mind anyway.

Now, the device was finished, and Tucker had made a special shield that would keep the device from affecting whoever was inside it. Danny had chosen who he wanted to remember his secret, and everyone he had chosen was currently downstairs in the Fenton's living room, waiting for the teen to turn the device on. Tuck had told them it would take about three hours for the device to wipe everyone's memories, and they had to stay inside the shield until then or their minds would be wiped as well.

Danny's family had obviously been included among the people who would know, as where Sam and Tucker. Danny had also chosen Valarie Grey and her father, and, much to everyone's surprise, Dash Baxter and Paulina Sanchez.

When Tucker and Sam (who was particularly miffed about Paulina being in on the secret) asked him about the two, Danny shrugged, saying he hoped they would leave him alone during school if they knew he could go ghost and whip their butts if he wanted. At least, that was why he allowed Dash to know. Paulina, he was hoping would remember why she wouldn't go out with Danny Fenton in the first place and leave him alone, since Danny was no longer interested in her. Paulina didn't seem to get the hints he kept dropping, however, as she continued to flirt shamelessly with him.

The teen trio sat in Danny's room now, all looking at each other in silence. At last, Danny stood, and his friends followed suit. "Let's do this."

Side by side, the three walked to the door and down the stairs where everyone looked up as they entered the room. No one said anything as the teen trio headed to the door that led to the basement, where Tucker had been building the device. No one made a move to follow them as they descended down the stairs.

The lab had not changed too much in the past two years. Jack and Maddie had expanded it, making a special area for Danny to train in, but otherwise, it was the same. The old ghost portal was there, the specter speeder, and all the other ghost hunting gadgets Danny's parents had created.

Tucker walked over to a panel on the wall. A series of switches were on it, and the techno geek flicked them on. A soft humming filled the air, signaling the shield was on.

Tucker stepped aside as Danny approached a large lever on the wall beside the panel. All he had to do was push it down, and the device would turn on, wiping the world's memories of the Disasteroid and him being Danny Phantom.

Taking a deep breathe, Danny placed his hand on the lever. As he did so, two other hands overlapped his, assuring him that no matter what, they would be beside him all the way.

Together, the three pulled the lever.

_This is a short fic that helps with my DP timeline. Quite frankly, I was disappointed with the way they ended the DP tv series. Don't get me wrong, PP was good, but it seemed so, bleh, to be a series finale. So, in my DP world, he wipes the minds of PP from everyone except Sam, Tucker, his parents, Jazz, Valarie and her dad, Dash, and Paulina (and all ghosts. The device doesn't work on ghosts –coughorhalfascough-)._

_Before someone accuses me of copying KicsterAsh, let me say this. Yes, I have read her stories (they are awesome, btw, go read them. NOW), and I have to say, I agree with her on Danny not liking the pressure of fame that comes with being a superhero and having the whole world know your secret identity. Come on, Danny's such a sweet, shy guy. I don't see him enjoying that kind of thing too much. He'd want out. _

_HOWEVER_

_That is where the similarities end. My DP timeline/world is far different from hers. For starters, Danny's eighteen in my stories. He hasn't graduated yet. (except for this one. He just turned seventeen in this.)_

_The rest you will find out when I get the story going._

_(and seriously, go read KicsterAsh's stuff, you won't be sorry)_


End file.
